Projections put deficit $11.5B lower than November budget. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne's spring economic update finds the Liberal government sitting in a better-than-expected position — driven by a resilient economy and surging oil prices — which it's using to justify billions in new spending to train up tens of thousands of skilled workers and set up a sovereign wealth fund...
In its first-ever spring economic update, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s newly minted majority government is promising to spend billions on a strategy to train more skilled workers to help deliver on its plans to build big. The revised fiscal outlook also shows that while the federal deficit is $11. 4 billion lower in the current fiscal year than what was...
The Liberal government released a spring economic update today closely focused on boosting investment and job training. While the document contains measures that likely would face pushback from the opposition, the Liberals -- thanks to their new parliamentary majority -- won't have to worry about securing opposition votes to pass it. The update includes the previously announced creation of the...
The federal Liberals say they're getting a windfall from better-than-expected fiscal revenues and are largely putting that money back into circulation to support households and build up the economy. But Ottawa's spring economic update also sees some darker clouds on the horizon as uncertainty over the Iran war and U.S. tariffs threatens growth in the years ahead. Finance Minister Francois-Philippe...
'The tide is definitely changing here,' says analysts as foreign interest grows. After selling off a large chunk of its Canadian assets nearly a decade ago, U.K.-based energy giant Shell is now expanding its operations in Alberta and British Columbia by acquiring Calgary-based ARC Resources for $22 billion. It is the latest in a series of deals in the Canadian...
Canada’s political landscape remains tilted towards the incumbents, though with signs of restlessness beneath the surface. Economic pressures continue to dominate public concern, with jobs, inflation and the broader cost of living crowding out other issues. Support for the governing Liberals remains well ahead of their rivals, while the Conservatives struggle to convert dissatisfaction into momentum. Smaller parties hold their...
The Liberal Party maintains a commanding lead, though its advantage has narrowed somewhat over the past month. The Liberals stand at 44.5 per cent nationally, while the Conservatives are 14 points behind at 31.0 per cent. Although the Liberals would easily win a majority government with these numbers, the margin has tightened from nearly 21 points last month.
If you have been wondering what meaning to attach to that irritating phrase the Carney Liberals use to describe themselves, “Canada’s New Government” – which was irritating enough when it was first employed, under Stephen Harper, when it was actually a new government – wonder no longer. As this Spring Economic Update makes abundantly clear, it means nothing whatever. Or...
“Let me make it real for you.” In that one short, sharp sentence, Finance Minister François Philippe Champagne acknowledged the political juggling act that Mark Carney’s government is trying to pull off as it embarks on its second year of power.
OTTAWA -- A new government office tasked with purchasing the most expensive equipment for the military is about to be upgraded to give it new independence and oversight, according to the Liberal government's spring economic update.
OTTAWA -- The federal government plans to ban cryptocurrency ATMs as part of a suite of measures in its spring economic statement targeting financial crimes.
Canada is at a crossroads. In the coming days and weeks, the federal government will decide whether the country compromises its climate commitments or embraces a more sustainable path towards a greener future.
Its natural gas reserves have the potential to enrich its people and power the world. Let’s get some shovels in the ground
Nothing is likely to shore up Conservative esprit de corps like the sight of Patty Hajdu rising in the House of Commons and accusing the Official Opposition of being “against Canada.”
Congratulations, Canada! On Monday, our nation joined an exclusive club: countries with sovereign wealth funds. Norway, Kuwait and other resource-rich nations have long tapped royalties and budget surpluses to fund investment vehicles: in this era of geopolitical uncertainty and an erratic neighbour, Prime Minister Mark Carney thinks it’s time Canada does the same.
The thing about the new Canadian “sovereign wealth fund” (SWF) announced on Monday by Prime Minister Mark Carney is that, judging by what we know so far, it’ll be pretty much the opposite of what he’s comparing it to. The prime minister cited Norway as a leading example of a country with a successful SWF — and so it is...
For all the talk that Prime Minister Mark Carney is a small-c conservative his announcement that Canada will create a sovereign wealth fund was a confirmation of his capital-L Liberal predilections. The form of the fund might be a little surprising, given that the sovereign wealth funds of resource-rich nations are usually seeded with windfall earnings socked away for the...
My March podcast interview with Pierre Poilievre drew a lot of attention, but one of the sharpest responses came from Max Fawcett, an award-winning Calgary journalist who’s been sharply critical of the notion that the West’s resource sector is singled out for mistreatment. Max just flat cancelled his subscription to this newsletter, and tore a strip off me on Bluesky...
Asked about how he went bankrupt, one of the characters in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises replies, “gradually, then suddenly.” That’s what’s in store for Canada’s supply management system, an outdated, regressive policy from the 1970s that protects the dairy and poultry sectors by artificially raising consumer prices and drastically restricting imports. It will disappear, gradually then suddenly...
Sovereign wealth funds are typically established by countries to manage their surplus wealth. Canada has just established the Canada Strong Fund — this country’s first national sovereign wealth fund — despite being deeply in the red. In short, there is no surplus wealth to manage.
No Canadian prime minister has ever faced a more difficult relationship with an American president than Prime Minister Mark Carney does with Donald Trump.
Like others, my immediate thoughts upon watching Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “Forward Guidance” video was a comparison to former United States president Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” during the 1930s and ’40s. FDR used these chats for several purposes but, like Carney, most importantly they were a way of communicating directly with voters without the filters of media. FDR’s chats...
It’s nice that U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen got a few cheers in Canada for taking U.S. officials to task for their insults. But it’s the injury that is the real problem. Ms. Shaheen snapped back at U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who had recently said his Canadian counterparts “suck” and complained during a Senate subcommittee hearing last week that liquor...
You wouldn’t know it, from their usual delusional bluster, but Donald Trump’s team is starting to panic. And perhaps they should. The president’s popularity is plummeting. One clear reason: the economic revolution he promised has turned into a catastrophe.
While the federal Liberals smugly refer to themselves as Canada’s natural governing party, the historical record suggests that may be true, despite the danger it poses to democracy.
Let me be clear: on the underlying question, Doug Ford was right.
If U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration hoped to strengthen Canada’s hand in trade talks, it could hardly have done a better job. This week, the U.S. deputy trade representative Rick Switzer told the Council of Foreign Relations that Prime Minister Mark Carney is guilty of “political malpractice” for pitting himself politically against the president, that he’s driven by his “ego,”...
With Liberal MPs holding a majority of seats in the House of Commons, government House leader Steven MacKinnon moved a motion on Thursday that would see that majority reflected in the allotment of seats on House committees. This would be an entirely remarkable development — the sort of procedural housekeeping that occurs at the start of each Parliament — except...
In the classic Canadian tradition of diffusing the pain by enlarging the official target field, Prime Minister Mark Carney this week unveiled a 24-member Advisory Committee on Canada-US Economic Relations to buttress his negotiating team heading into the looming CUSMA review with the United States and Mexico. The committee is composed of some pan-partisan political figures, from former federal Tory...
Was John Turner right? Is Donald Trump’s weaponization of Canada’s dependence on trade with the United States vindication of the Liberal leader’s dire prophecies during the 1988 election campaign? Is this the bitter fruit of the Mulroney government’s decision, all those years ago, to sign a free-trade agreement with the United States?
We’ve been warned for months that Canada faces exceedingly tough talks on renewing the CUSMA/USMCA trade deal. With Donald Trump blowing off the importance of Canada (“we don’t need anything they have”), it was shaping up as a cage match at the negotiating table. As of this week, though, we face the very real possibility of an even more ominous...
In a recent op-ed, Liberal MP and former environment minister Steven Guilbeault wrote that the government's energy ambitions put the country at a climate crossroads. Power & Politics questions Guilbeault on his hopes for the Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding, and on his thoughts regarding the current state of the Liberal party.
When Mark Carney skated over to the TV cameras at an ice rink in Ottawa this month, he introduced his hockey buddy Alexander Stubb to Canadians as “the man, the myth, the legend” and the prime minister’s “No. 1 draft choice.” Carney isn’t putting together a beer league, nor is he trying out for the Ottawa Charge, whose practice he...
New NDP Leader Avi Lewis has set his sights on bringing an end to the practice of surveillance pricing, calling it a “crystal clear example of why we desperately need government guardrails to protect us from the triple threat of Big Tech, AI and corporate monopolies that dominate every sector of our economy.” During a press conference in Ottawa flanked...
Among the former politicians and CEOs of a mining giant, a paper company, a steel company, a potash producer, a railway, a bank, and lobby groups for small business and the auto and aluminum sectors, there was a glaring omission: experts from the tech sector. The 24 people on the Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations announced by Prime Minister...
Opinion on Canada’s New! Liberal! Majority! Government! has tended to divide into two camps. On one hand are those, mostly to be found on the Conservative end of things, who denounce the process by which the Liberals attained their majority – five opposition MPs, crossing the floor one after the other, like baby ducks – as illegitimate, even undemocratic. Canadians...
Jim Balsillie said Canada was ‘hijacked’ last time around and is likely to be further disadvantaged in the pending negotiations
OTTAWA -- The federal government is promising $4.3 billion for First Nations education, Inuit food security and Indigenous child welfare in its spring economic update.
OTTAWA -- The federal government's spring economic update today formalizes a pivot in climate policy that was first made in last year's energy agreement with Alberta.
OTTAWA -- Here's a brief look at some of the key numbers in the Liberal government's 2026 spring economic update:
The federal government had added $755 million in sport funding over the next five years, which drops to $118 million after that, as part of its spring economic update.
OTTAWA -- The Liberal government says the office tasked with making major purchases for the military is about to be upgraded to give it new independence and oversight.
OTTAWA -- The federal government tabled its spring economic update on Tuesday, projecting a $66.9 billion deficit for the fiscal year which ended on March 31.
An Edmonton lawyer is calling on Elections Alberta to close a loophole allowing Premier Danielle Smith's government to advertise in favour of her fall referendum on sweeping immigration reform. Provincial law prohibits the government from advertising or publishing certain information related to a referendum if the vote is taking place alongside a general or municipal election. Legislation passed last year...
The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of one of its largest producers and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices. The UAE's decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had...
The European Union says Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Armenia this weekend as part of a summit focused on strategic issues. Carney's office has not publicly confirmed the visit, but European Council President Antonio Costa says on social media that the prime minister will be attending. The European Political Community summit will take place in the Armenian capital...
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the Liberals are "good fiscal managers" — and he'll have the chance to prove it when the federal government tables its spring economic update Tuesday afternoon. The federal government typically tables mid-year updates between annual budgets to revise its economic and fiscal projections. These updates can include new spending and are sometimes referred to as...
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is calling Ottawa's new sovereign wealth fund a good initiative. But Moe says if Prime Minister Mark Carney really wants to unlock investments in major projects, then the government should walk back a number of environmental policies he says are getting in the way. Carney says the fund will be used to invest in major Canadian...
PM says he wants to see his successors return to official residence. The state of 24 Sussex Drive is "an embarrassment," says Prime Minister Mark Carney, who suggested he wants a decision made about the future of the derelict residence meant for Canada's prime ministers. "You're not going to see me at 24 Sussex, but I would like to see...
Prime minister points to other countries he suggests are unhappy with agreements reached with U.S. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada and the U.S. could resolve the ongoing tariff dispute within "days" if the U.S. side had the "bandwidth and the inclination to go through with it." The U.S. has maintained hefty import levies on a number of Canadian goods...
Former B.C. Liberal MP John Aldag wants his party to begin nominating candidates as soon as possible so they can start campaigning and fundraising for the next election. A significant number of exempt ministerial and MP staffers who left in 2024 expecting a Liberal defeat are now returning to Parliament Hill, as the party now holds a majority and Prime...
A senior government source told iPolitics that senators are slowing down a bill supported by the Liberals and Conservatives, as well as provincial and territorial premiers, and municipal police chiefs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the country's first national sovereign wealth fund on Monday, pitching it as a way for Canadians to invest in nation-building projects. Carney said the Canada Strong Fund will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology. The prime minister said the federal government will put up funds...
Prime Minister Mark Carney's new advisory council on Canada--U.S. trade met for the first time today, ahead of trade negotiations with President Donald Trump's White House that are set to begin over the coming months. Carney recently struck the new committee in preparation for the scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement on trade, better known as CUSMA, which must...
Quebec's premier met today in Washington D.C. with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, an influential member of President Donald Trump's cabinet. Christine Frechette met Greer ahead of negotiations between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on the continental free-trade pact, scheduled to begin July 1.
Canadian wood manufacturers are welcoming a trade inquiry into wood imports but say the investigation needs to be followed by immediate provisional tariffs on foreign-made goods entering the country. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the government had directed the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to launch an inquiry into global imports of wood cabinets and vanities, hardwood flooring...
Business groups say the federal government's decision to establish Canada's first sovereign wealth fund could be helpful to get projects going, but is not a singular fix. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Canada Strong Fund on Monday, saying it will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology with an initial...
The three Liberals who won the byelections that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this month took their seats in the House of Commons on Monday. The government moved quickly to make use of its new majority powers by introducing a motion to limit debate on a change to the House rules that would enable the...
NDP Leader Avi Lewis said Monday he won't run in an upcoming Quebec byelection to fill a seat being left vacant by Alexandre Boulerice. Boulerice officially announced Monday he is leaving Parliament to run provincially for the Quebec solidaire after spending 15 years as an MP. He will sit as an Independent until he formally resigns his seat in the...
After 15 years in Ottawa with the NDP, Montreal MP Alexandre Boulerice says he is quitting federal politics to join Quebec solidaire -- a leftist, sovereigntist party -- ahead of October's provincial election. His departure had been an open secret for some time, and he made the official announcement Monday in the Montreal riding of Gouin, where he will seek...
On the eve of his first spring economic update, Prime Minister Mark Carney insists his government is focused on “doing more than one thing at one time” to increase affordability for Canadians. Carney made the comments in Ottawa Monday, speaking to reporters following his announcement that his government is creating Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund. A sovereign wealth fund...
Conservative MPs are calling on the auditor general to probe the federal government's handling of a $250 million program which is reportedly set to be scrapped next month. PrescribeIT was launched in 2017 to modernize the way doctors send prescriptions to pharmacies and to phase out older technology, such as fax machines. Conservative MP Dan Mazier cites reporting by The...
The three Liberals who won the byelections earlier this month that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney are taking their seats in the House of Commons today. Doly Begum, Danielle Martin and Tatiana Auguste were sworn in as members of Parliament on Saturday. Begum and Martin are newcomers who replaced outgoing cabinet ministers Bill Blair and Chrystia...
The sign on the door says “closed” and Jamie Morningstar is not happy. Clutching an envelope of income tax papers, he’s come for help to the constituency office of local MP Marilyn Gladu, who two weeks ago stunned the populace — and Parliament — by jumping from the Conservatives to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals.
Finance minister says economic resilience and affordability are priorities. Finance experts predict Tuesday's spring economic update will contain a number of new economic measures aimed at tackling affordability and the wider economic challenges of the country, and they expect the update will show a smaller-than-forecasted deficit. "That'll be the headline number that will likely get a lot of attention," said...
A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government a passing grade in its first year of international relations, but it has failed to meet expectations on affordability issues. The poll asked 2,013 Canadians a series of questions about the government's performance since it won the election on April 28, 2025. Last...
Fresh off a by-election sweep and a newly formed (if thin) majority in the House of Commons, the federal Liberals have increased their lead over the Conservatives in recent days—not because Liberal support has surged, but because the Conservatives have slipped further back in the aggregate. In our latest episode of The Numbers (recorded Thursday morning), Eric and I discussed...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- King Charles III marked the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain with gratitude that the two countries united to build "one of the most consequential alliances in human history" while urging "that we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump and King Charles III greeted each other warmly on Tuesday as the monarch began a day of diplomacy in Washington designed to emphasize a bond between the United Kingdom and the United States that is so strong it can withstand the political turmoil of the moment.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- King Charles III will embrace some of Washington's most formal ceremonial trappings on Tuesday as he tries to emphasize a bond between the United Kingdom and the United States that is so strong it can withstand the political turmoil of the moment.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- King Charles III will embrace some of Washington's most formal ceremonial trappings on Tuesday as he tries to emphasize a bond between the United Kingdom and the United States that is so strong it can withstand the political turmoil of the moment.
The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of one of its largest producers and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices. The UAE's decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had...
President Donald Trump and top officials were rushed to safety after shots were fired near stairs leading down to the main ballroom.
Ottawa has announced an increase in the number of direct flights permitted to bring passengers and cargo to and from China. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon says there will be "an incremental increase" in flights between the countries in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney's outreach visit to Beijing in January. Canadian and Chinese airlines will be allowed to boost the...
The strait will not be fully reopened “until America allows full freedom of navigation for vessels traveling from Iran,” Iranian military officials indicated. Iranian military officials said Saturday that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz have reverted to "strict control," citing the continued U.S. blockade of its ports, just one day after declaring the waterway “completely open.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney told world leaders today Canada welcomes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The Prime Minister's Office says Carney took part virtually in a meeting with dozens of world leaders to talk about securing the strait.
The first year of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s leadership has had a transformational impact on both Canada’s foreign policy and its standing in the world. The shift has been especially evident in the Indo-Pacific, where Ottawa is more active, more strategic, and more ambitious than it has ever been.
Canada’s long-standing openness helped build one of the world’s most respected immigration systems. However, the intellectual establishment’s push for ever-expanding “inclusivity” has driven that openness beyond what many Canadians consider reasonable.
A comparison of two separate surveys conducted during the 2021 and 2025 election years shows a misalignment between the positions of election candidates and those of their constituents on the division of powers in Canada. While the views of candidates and voters were relatively close on this issue in 2021, the gap widened in 2025. The percentage of voters who...
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
Earlier this month, the federal government quietly released its annual inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, now with data up to 2024. The news was not good. Carbon pollution reduction effectively stalled in 2024 (down a measly 0.3 per cent from the previous year and down only 10 per cent from 2005). Canada, simply put, is not on the trajectory...
I nearly drove off the road when I heard Pope Leo’s powerful message on the radio this week.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office wants to bust up a monopoly. I think I’m the target. Let me explain. The Privy Council Office (PCO), home of the prime minister and cabinet, has been flooded with complaints about its failures to comply with the Access to Information Act.
Amid much fanfare the government announced last week that it has established a new advisory council on trade with emphasis on the challenging situation with the United States. Looks impressive with some big names and a non partisan flavour. But do these work or are they just a gimmick? Former Harper cabinet minister James Moore and former Trudeau PMO adviser...
The Davos Speech, the Tariff profile, and now the Canada Strong Fund. It's been a busy year for Mark Carney since being elected as Canada's 24th Prime Minister this day last year, and as Canadians face tough economic and geopolitical uncertainty, we're taking a look back at how Carney has managed to bring the country together through some of the...
The Iran War enters its ninth week, but the fighting has been over for a while. Does that mean the war is over? Dr. Janice Stein is with us as she always is on Mondays and that's the topic today as the two sides, the United States and Iran, try to find ways to meet and negotiate. And Janice also...
Former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford is the one man still alive who was personally in the room with then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau when provinces and the federal government agreed, together, to a new Constitution Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He talks to Brian about the real basis for Section 33 — the notwithstanding clause —...
